The Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation Limited, popularly known as Tasmac, sold liquor worth ₹150 crore on New Year’s eve. A day before that, on December 30, when polling was held in some rural local bodies, the State-run liquor market clocked sales of ₹92 crore.
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In 2018, the State-run liquor market saw its sales numbers touch ₹130 crore on December 31. On December 30, the sales figure had stood at ₹113 crore.
A source in Tasmac said that sales on two days – December 30 and 31 -- were somewhat flat, compared to last year. “The reason is, it was a dry day in many parts of Tamil Nadu due to the local body polls. Shops in areas which went to polls opened late in the evening only.”
A look at the cumulative data for December 30 and December 31 shows that the revenue this year was ₹242 crore against ₹243 crore in 2018. A year before that, in 2017 the revenue had been ₹230.52 crore.
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The cash cow of the Tamil Nadu government, on an average, sells liquor worth ₹70-75 crore on weekdays and during weekends the collection goes up to ₹90 crore. During key festive seasons which include Deepavali and New Year, the sales figures generally cross the ₹100 crore mark.
Currently, the State has 5,152 liquor retail vending shops and 1,872 bars. For the year 2018-19 the government earned revenues to the tune of ₹31, 157 crore through Tasmac.